On Monday, April 8, 2024, the moon’s shadow will trace a narrow swath across North
America, momentarily eclipsing the sun — and SUNY Plattsburgh is directly in its
path! We invite you to join us in the festivities for this exceptional astronomical
event.
Be Involved!
We invite you to explore the lectures, exhibits, conferences and events we have planned
to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Totality Conference: Call for Proposals
Be More Than a Spectator: Join in Creating the Path to Totality
The Totality Conference is a mini-conference modeled on the successful template created
for Black Solidarity Day. Held on on April 5, the Friday prior to the Total Solar
Eclipse, the conference gives us an opportunity to contemplate the meaning of the
experience from as many perspectives as possible — scientific, social, cultural, aesthetic,
historical and spiritual. We invite students, faculty, staff and community members
to contribute a session that speaks directly to one or more of these perspectives
on this once-in-a-lifetime celestial event.
Darkness & Light is a community art exhibition open to everyone. Each artist is welcome to submit
up to three pieces. Pieces for the darkness theme will be exhibited at the Strand
Center for the Arts and pieces for the light theme will be exhibited at SUNY Plattsburgh.
Celebrating the Path to Totality with Rockwell Kent
The Plattsburgh State Art Museum and its staff are anxiously awaiting this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to behold
the total eclipse that will occur in Plattsburgh on April 8, 2024. In anticipation
of this momentous event, we explored our collections for celestial representations
to mark the occasion. While we did not have artworks that address this specific astrological
event, we did discover a powerful selection of Rockwell Kent works that address the
celestial realm.
Date & Time: Ongoing through the spring semester
Location: Outside of the Burke Gallery, Second Floor, Myers Fine Arts Building
“The Wow of Eclipses: Delving Deep into the Totality Experience” with Dr. Kate Russo
Come hear Dr. Kate Russo, founder of Being in the Shadow, discuss her research and
experiences of eclipses and awe. Kate will also share her insights and advice on preparing
for your first-time total solar eclipse experience. Dr. Russo will join us via Zoom
from Australia. Introduction by Michelle Ouellette.
Date & Time: February 16, 2024 from 5 – 6:30 p.m.
Location: Live viewing at 106 Hudson Hall and via Zoom
Dr. Kate Russo is an author, psychologist, and eclipse chaser; and founder of Being
in the Shadow. Kate has now seen 13 total solar eclipses from 11 countries in her
24 years of chasing, and will be an eclipse chaser for life. She has published three
books on the experience of totality, leads niche eclipse tours and is in demand in
the media and as a speaker due to her passionate sharing of the awe and wonder of
totality. She also plays a leadership role in helping communities prepare for totality,
and is a member of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Solar Eclipse Task Force.
Public Lecture, “A Squiggly Path to Happiness Totality”
Date & Time: November 9, 2023 at 7 p.m.
Campus Lecture, “You, Me, and STEM”
Date & Time: November 10, 2023 from 9 – 9:50 a.m.
Dr. K. Renee Horton currently serves as the Space Launch System (SLS) quality engineer
in the NASA Residential Management Office at Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New
Orleans. She worked for NASA, first as a student from 2009–2011 and then started her
career as a mechanical test engineer in 2012.
Renee has been an invited speaker for the first International Women and Girls Day
at the United Nations, Essence Power Stage, March for Science – New Orleans and recently
the LSU Engineering Spring Commencement. She has spoken all over the world including
South Africa, Brazil, South Korea, Canada, Mexico and the beautiful Virgin Islands.
She is the author of Dr. H Explores the Universe, Dr. H and her Friends, and Dr. H
Explores the ABCs.
Above: Dr. Horton giving a lecture on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus
Above: Dr. Horton stands in front of a mural in downtown Plattsburgh honoring Michael
Anderson, African American astronaut who was born at the Plattsburgh Air Force Base
and later was one of six crew members killed in the Columbia space shuttle disaster
in 2003.
One of the most enthusiastic and famous amateur astronomers of our time. Although
he has never taken a class in astronomy, he has written over three dozen books, has
written for three astronomy magazines and has appeared o television programs featured
on the Discovery and Science channels.
Among David’s accomplishments are 23 comet discoveries, the most famous being Shoemaker-Levy
9 that collided with Jupiter in 1994, a few hundred shared asteroid discoveries, an
Emmy for the documentary Three Minutes to Impact, five honorary doctorates in science (one from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2005) and a Ph.D.
from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2010) which combines astronomy and English
Literature. David continues to hunt for comets and asteroids and lectures worldwide.
Solar Total Eclipse Resources
For a total solar eclipse to take place, the moon passes between the sun and Earth,
completely blocking the face of the sun. Weather permitting, people located in the
center of the moon’s shadow when it hits Earth will experience a total eclipse — and
Plattsburgh will be in the center of the moon’s shadow!
The sky will become very dark for a few minutes, as if it were night — in Plattsburgh,
this darkness will last over three minutes. Normally, when looking at the sun, you
can only see the photosphere, the bright surface. However, extending about 5,000 km
above the photosphere is the region of the solar atmosphere called the chromosphere.
It is only seen during total solar eclipses, or with sophisticated telescopes, and
its red and pinkish color gives the blackened moon a thin halo of color against the
greyish corona.
Because Plattsburgh will be in the center of the total solar eclipse, we will also
see the sun’s corona, the outer atmosphere, which is otherwise usually obscured by
the bright face of the sun. This will be a very rare and special experience and we
hope you will plan to participate with us!
An astronomical eclipse (either partial or total) occurs when one celestial body,
such as a planet or a moon, moves into the shadow of another celestial body; thus,
its light appears temporarily obscured from an observer’s perspective.
A solar eclipse occurs when the new moon passes between the Earth and sun, temporarily
blocking the sun’s light as its shadow crosses over a portion of the Earth’s surface.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the full moon passes through the Earth’s shadow and its
illumination is temporarily diminished.
During a total solar eclipse, the track of the moon’s shadow across Earth’s surface
is referred to as the path of totality. Although this path may be some 16,000 kilometers
(~10,000 miles) long, its width is quite narrow, between 100 to 275 kilometers (~60
to 170 miles) wide. For an observer to experience a total solar eclipse, they must
be within the track of the moon’s shadow track — in other words, on the path of totality.
Great American Eclipse — View detailed maps and posters of the eclipse’s path in the United States
National Eclipse — View Google maps of the eclipse’s path in the United States and see cities within
the Path of Totality.
Time & Date — View eclipse animation and time and date statistics for Plattsburgh-specific eclipse
viewing.
Map of New York state, the path of totality and corresponding times of darkness is
used with permission: Michael Zeiler, GreatAmericanEclipse.com. Plattsburgh, N.Y. will see three minutes and thirty-five seconds of darkness.
American Society of the Pacific — An international non-profit scientific and educational organization that works
to increase understanding and appreciation of astronomy.
American Astronomical Society — Resources from the American Astronomical Society with information about eclipses,
safe viewing practices, images, video, and resources for educators.
NASA Eclipse — NASA studies solar eclipses on the ground, in our atmosphere and in space. General
resources for safety, science, history.
Severe eye injury may be sustained without specialized protective eye wear during
eclipse viewing.
When viewing a solar eclipse, you must wear specialized protective eye wear when looking
directly into the sun — sunglasses will not protect your eyes during eclipse viewing.
During the short period of totality, it is safe to look directly at the sun, but it’s
crucial to know when to put your eclipse glasses back on.